Tag: Holy Spirit

This Sunday we’ll continue our Art of Prayer and Fasting series with our second look at prayer from Romans 8:18-30, and see how even though we’re weak in prayer, we can still pray well with a reliance on the Holy Spirit. Then on Sunday evening, we’ll continue our Follow Me video study. We hope to see you there!

This morning, we’ll take a look at Exodus 33:12-34:35 and see how Moses had a life-changing encounter with the glory of God and how that points to the life-changing encounter we experience through Jesus and his gospel. We hope to see you there!

In a recent church survey, we asked if there were any particular sermon topics people would be interested in hearing. We received back quite a few topics that Pastor Mike is planning to use to finish out 2018 once we wrap up our journey through Exodus at the end of this month.

Unfortunately, there’s not enough time for every idea (though they may be visited further in the future). Below are the series and sermons planned from August through December.

November – December: The Life of… (biblical character studies)
11.04 “The Life of Mary”
11.11 “The Life of David”
11.18 “The Life of Hannah”
11.25 “The Life of Daniel”
12.02 “The Life of Tabitha”
12.09 “The Life of Barnabas”

This Sunday we’ll take a look at Exodus 31:1-11, & 35:30-39:43. We’ll see how God gives his Spirit to his people, gifting us to serve others for his glory and their good. We also have a meal and business meeting following the morning service. We hope to see you there!

The ninth, and final, fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is self-control.

Self-control is as it sounds: the ability to control one’s self. There are some things that we can’t always control. We can’t always control our temptations. We can’t always control the first things that pop into our minds. We can’t always control the instinct of a first-impression about someone else.

But we can control how we respond.

Self-control is a combination of discipline and responsibility. Self-control realizes that no one can force our hand, we are ultimately responsible for our own actions. Self-control also puts in work to be able to control our actions.

Paul described such discipline in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Paul didn’t want sinful actions to get the best of him in the end, so he fought for self-control. In doing so: He kept his eye on the prize, he stayed focused, and he practiced good habits.

This is how the Spirit helps us to grow in self-control. He keeps our eyes fixed on Jesus and the great joys of eternity. He gives us new purpose in life, living to love God supremely and love others deeply. And he works in our lives, a process known of sanctification, to help us weed out the bad (sinful) and practice the good (God-honoring).

Gentleness is the eight fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

Being gentle implies a sense of strength. When you have more strength than someone or something else, you have the potential to hurt or to break the person or object. Gentleness, then, is a sense of care. It is having concern for the well being of another so that you intentionally do what you can to avoid causing harm.

Gentleness is like when a little child rest safely in the arms of her father. The man, bigger in stature and more experienced in knowledge, has the potential to cause great harm; but the man loves his child, so he will use his strength to nurture and protect her instead.

The same is true with us and God. In Matthew 11, Jesus says that when we come to him with our life burdens, we find someone who is gentle and offers rest (11:28-29). This same Jesus is described in Revelation 19 as riding from heaven on a white horse to exact vengeance against his enemies, who he slays with his breath.

Jesus is powerful. Indeed, as God the Son, Jesus is all-powerful. Yet, because of his love for us, Jesus is also gentle and he uses his strength to nurture and protect (John 10).

It is no mistake that gentleness and self-control, the ninth fruit of the Spirit, are listed side by side. Gentleness requires self-control. Gentleness keeps strength under control.

Each of us, even if we don’t personally feel very strong, have people in our lives whom we could easily hurt with our words or actions. The Spirit of God in us leads us to be gentle instead. So, let us seek to keep strength under control. Let us seek to be gentle, and let us pray that the Spirit would make us more gentle.

Faithfulness is the seventh fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

To be faithful is to “keep hold.” Faithfulness to God is described in Hebrews 10:23 as “let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.”

God is faithful to his people and to do all the things he has promised. God does not fail to do a single thing that he has said he would do. And God will not lose from his hand those who have received eternal life through Jesus (John 10:27-30).

On this foundation, God has called us to be faithful to him. The letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3 call for faithfulness or endurance. To be faithful to God is to live in the light of his promises no matter what the world throws at us. People might disappoint. Disaster might strike. We might suffer loss. But God will make all things right, so we hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on…

Faithfulness also extends to others. This will look different from relationship to relationship, but faithfulness will “keep hold” for the good of others. As spouses, we are faithful as we live in sexual purity, sharing our bodies only with each other. We are also faithful as we devote ourselves to sacrificial love that we seek the best for our husband or wife. As parents, we are faithful as we commit to supply and care for our children until they become adults who can care for themselves. Then we continue to be faithful as we pray for them, love them, their spouses, and their children. As friends, we are faithful as we encourage one another and nurture the friendship so we can see each other excel in life and godliness.

Faithfulness takes many forms, but at it’s root is that sense of commitment. Faithfulness says, “I’m in this for the long haul and I won’t be derailed.”

The strength for faithful endurance comes from the Holy Spirit dwelling within. Life and relationships will have their ups and downs. Sometimes life even throws massive curveballs that we didn’t see coming. The Spirit guides us through all of this. He develops in our hearts the fruit of greater faithfulness so that we won’t simply endure the bumps but will be better on the other side (James 1:2-4).

So, let us pray that God will grant us greater faithfulness through the power of his Spirit.